Thursday, September 12, 2019

With the second week of school/work almost under our belts I have to say we are doing okay! The early morning starts (6am) for Gary and I definitely make a world of difference. I mentioned it last week but getting up before the kids to exercise, shower and have coffee makes us much nicer parents and people. Our kids never used to sleep in until 7 am so this is a great new routine. All right, what am I grateful for this week?

Thursday, September 05, 2019

Happy first week back to school! I realize this isn't the case for anyone but it definitely is in this family with three kids in three different schools (primary, middle and high) and two teachers. One thing I have been doing each morning is some brief journaling of my stresses and gratitude's (which I'll talk about below) and I'd really encourage you to try it out if you think it would be helpful. It only takes about two minutes/day and I feel it really helps to reset and focus.

Being that it's Thursday it's time to share my thankful list of the week! I am thankful for:

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Hello and thank you for checking this space out once again. I have been here since 2006–13 years, isn't that wild? While I blog only once a week at most now, I do value this space and the community it has allowed me to have. I'm curious how going into another school year teaching will affect Talk Nerdy to Me but I plan to keep updating as I'm able.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Our three weeks in Europe included two weeks in the Netherlands and one in France. This meant that we were able to spend a day in Belgium on our way to and from France as well. You can see some tips I have give here on what to consider when planning your trip.

Saturday, August 10, 2019

We recently travelled through the Netherlands, Belgium and France with our three kids for three weeks. The purpose was primarily to connect with my dutch roots and for the kids to experience various cultures. Our hope was to go to all of the museums and attractions that we wanted and to eat local foods yet keep the budget for the entire trip under $10,000 Canadian.

Our kids are seven, 10 and 13 which worked well for a trip like this. When planning I had a few questions: How should we get around? Which cities should we see? Will my MasterCard work okay? How much would it all cost? This is what we did and I wouldn't say there is a right or wrong way; this is just what worked for us.

Here are a few things that you may want to consider when planning your European trip:

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

The Western Challenge Cup is a ball hockey tournament that includes teams from B.C. through to Manitoba. Every year it rotates being hosted between B.C. and Alberta and Kai has the highest chance of making this team on the years that it is away as he is the older at that time. We weren't sure if he should try out for the U13 team as we had a big trip to Europe planned but he really wanted to and we thought the tryouts would be a good experience.

Well, he made the team of 15 runners and 2 goalies. Leading up to the tournament in Edmonton, Kai fundraised with bottles and earned $240 to pay for his team fees, "new" back-up stick and gloves. He also had many practises and exhibition games. Going into the tournament their only loss was to Delta and they tied with Metro. They felt pretty confident and Surrey has a pretty good reputation of doing well at this tournament.

Thursday, July 04, 2019

Who am I kidding, I always am. Along with the relief of summer holidays and being able to sort of sleep in, there are feelings of nervousness regarding our upcoming trip–how do I fully prepare for three weeks in Europe? Will it cost more than predicted? There are also feelings of frustration as I really wish my body was 100% healthy to do all the activities I would like but my foot still needs to be treated with great care and my weight is at a all time high (other than pregnancy). My kids seem to enjoy arguing with each other yet needing to be right next to one another which brings on some "wonderful feelings" Finally, there are ants in our home and a rat in our backyard which is just annoying. So, there's a broad range of feelings, time to focus on what I'm thankful for this week:

Wednesday, July 03, 2019

We just had our third family reunion at Tigh-Na-Mara in Parksville, B.C. There were 33 of us and again, it was the perfect location! Although there is a ferry involved to get there which increase the cost and time, we were able to get home in about four hours from door to door – not bad. We had amazing weather (mid 20's) and the kids had a blast with their cousins. The resort is quite accessible for strollers and wheelchairs to get around and to the beach (but not on the beach) but know that the path back up to the resort is steep. So grateful for this opportunity to hang out, connect and make memories!

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Today is the last day of school for my kiddos! We did it. Phew. The main "work" of it all is just the organization–from agendas to field trip forms to birthday parties to band concert information that comes home in that backpack every day, it's a full time management job. Let's take a quick look at the growth (physical and otherwise) this year for each kid. Please note that I'm mostly focusing on the positive. This is not because my kids are perfect but I don't want to embarrass them publicly.

Hello!

Hi, I'm Louise! I'm a mom of three (and sometimes more through fostering) and wife of super chef and science teacher, Gary. I love the great outdoors, photography, and spending time together as a family. Oh, and silence.